Thirty-year members of the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce were recognized during the chamber's annual meeting Tuesday, Feb. 6 at the Great Hall Banquet & Convention Center. (Kate Carlson/kcarlson@mdn.net)

Thirty-year members of the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce were recognized during the chamber's annual meeting Tuesday, Feb. 6 at the Great Hall Banquet & Convention Center. (Kate Carlson/kcarlson@mdn.net)

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Thirty-year members of the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce were recognized during the chamber's annual meeting Tuesday, Feb. 6 at the Great Hall Banquet & Convention Center. (Kate Carlson/kcarlson@mdn.net)

Thirty-year members of the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce were recognized during the chamber's annual meeting Tuesday, Feb. 6 at the Great Hall Banquet & Convention Center. (Kate Carlson/kcarlson@mdn.net)

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Sharon Mortensen was awarded the ATHENA Award during the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting Tuesday, Feb. 6 at the Great Hall Banquet & Convention Center. (Kate Carlson/kcarlson@mdn.net) less

Sharon Mortensen was awarded the ATHENA Award during the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting Tuesday, Feb. 6 at the Great Hall Banquet & Convention Center. (Kate ... more

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FILE -- Midland Burger Co. received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award Feb. 6 at the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting.

FILE -- Midland Burger Co. received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award Feb. 6 at the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting.

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FILE -- Sharon Mortensen, CEO and president of the Midland Area Community Foundation, was presented the ATHENA Award Feb. 6 at the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. (Katy Kildee/kkildee@mdn.net, file) less

FILE -- Sharon Mortensen, CEO and president of the Midland Area Community Foundation, was presented the ATHENA Award Feb. 6 at the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. (Katy Kildee/kkildee@mdn.net, ... more

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Businesses, leaders recognized at Midland Area Chamber of Commerce meeting

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Businesses, entrepreneurs and other Midland Area Chamber of Commerce members were recognized during the chamber’s 79th annual meeting Tuesday night.

A room full of Midland community leaders packed the Great Hall Banquet and Convention Center on Feb. 6 to honor up-and-coming businesses and organizations that have established a lasting legacy in the area.

“All of our business award winners and nominees represent some of Midland’s finest business institutions,” said Diane Middleton, Midland Area Chamber of Commerce executive director. “We think it’s important to recognize businesses of all sizes and stages of development.”

Businesses recognized with awards included the Midland Burger Co., Ieuter Insurance Group, Northwood University and LaLonde’s Market. Individuals awarded were William Gagliardi of Davenport University, who received the J. Kermit Campbell Partnership Award, and Sharon Mortensen, CEO and president of the Midland Area Community Foundation.

The ATHENA Award, which was given to Mortensen, honors an individual who is devoted to the community in a meaningful way and forges a path of leadership for other women.

“I looked at the people who have gotten this before and they are women that I really look up to and admire, and that have made our community a great place,” Mortensen said. “So it’s really humbling to be counted among them.”

After a successful year of starting a food truck in April 2017, Midland Burger Co. claimed the Entrepreneur of the Year award. The Business of the Year award went to Ieuter Insurance Group as well as Northwood University for demonstrating workplace quality, community involvement and business growth. The Heritage Award, which recognizes an outstanding organization that has been operating for longer than 30 years, went to LaLonde’s Market.

Steve LaLonde accepted the award on behalf of his daughter and son-in-law, Emily and Scott MacNellis.

“Scott and Emily have taken the business to levels even I couldn’t have dreamed of,” Lalonde said. “I’m so proud of them.”

Other businesses honored as nominees for awards:

Entrepreneur of the Year: Red Threads, Serendipity Road

Business of the Year — small: Greystone Homes, Robert Boerner State Farm

Business of the Year – large: Great Lakes Loons, Midland Cogeneration Venture

“This is our community, and these are the people that are making a difference in our community,” said Diane Postler-Slattery, Midland Business Alliance Board Chair. “As we think about MBA and what our role is, it’s really to be the growth and economic development of Midland County, and to make sure that Midland County doesn’t just survive, that this is a county that thrives in the future.”